Roadtrip
by TheCrownprincessBride
Summary: The Granger-Malfoy family wants to go on holiday. But why does Hermione want to take the car? And will Draco survive the hours on the road with a stubborn wife and two nagging children without using magic? One shot.


**Hi guys, this is my first One shot, so be gentle.  
Thanks to my great Beta _The Daring Inferno._ Thank you for your help. :)  
My next story is already in progress, so stay tuned...**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

* * *

"Are we there yet?" Scorpius Malfoy drawled from the backseat of the car.

"No, honey. We're only just five minutes on the road." Hermione Granger-Malfoy smiled weakly.

"But normally we're so much faster." Complained the seven year old in a whining voice.

"Yes, I know Scorp. But your mother wanted to do this the _muggle_ _way_." Draco Malfoy intervened drily and glanced at his wife, who stared on at the road ahead. They had spontaneously decided to do a little weekend trip to the beach to a place where Hermione used to stay with her parents when she was younger. Because Draco wanted to do her a favour, they had booked the exact same B &B, only now as a family. But, as it was a muggle hotel, they couldn't floo, and the children were too young to apparate. And Hermione being Hermione hadn't wanted to call in any favours for a portkey on short notice and had insisted on taking a car. Draco had grudgingly given in. Consequently, they sat in the car of Hermione's parents, Hermione behind the wheel, Draco on the passenger seat and Scorpius and Cassiopeia Narcissa in the back.

"But I am booooored," his son mumbled, "and Cas said she needs to pee."

"You still think this was a good idea?" Draco muttered under his breath.

Hermione gave him a stern look, but ignored his question. "But Cas, you just went to the loo at home. You can't possibly have drunk that much."

"I really, really, really, really, really need to pee!" The five year old insisted, pouting.

"Okay, don't worry, hon. I'll stop at the next service area." Hermione said lightly and sped along the motorway.

"Scorp, why don't you do your homework?" Draco suggested, turning to the backseat. His son rolled his eyes and explained slowly, as if his father was mentally retarded: "Dad, we're on _holiday_!"

Suddenly, Hermione jammed on the brakes and he spun around. "Merlin. You're sure you know how to drive that thing?" Draco hissed.

"Are we there yet?" His son asked at the same time.

"We're stuck in a traffic jam." Hermione explained.

"What the hell is a traffic jam?" Draco asked annoyed.

"Language." She hissed and pointed ahead. Now he realised that all the cars in front of them had slowed down and were creeping up the hill like disabled snakes.

"Ugh, this is going to take ages." He sighed, "This was a horrible idea, love."

"No, it wasn't. We're behaving just like a normal family." She smiled at him.

"We _are_ a normal family."

Before Hermione could say something, their daughter interrupted them. "Can I go to the loo now?"

"No, hon. You need to wait a bit longer." Hermione said smoothly and put on the wireless. "We can listen to some music."

"I'm _hungry_." Scorpius said accusingly and crossed his arms, sulking.

"Lucky for you I've made us all sandwiches." His wife said brightly. Draco rolled his eyes inwardly. She was prepared for everything, wasn't she?

"Where are they?" Cas inquired, now appearing hungry as well.

"In the boot." Hermione replied, "But we are still driving…"

" _Accio_." Draco said simply and two packages of sandwiches flew into his hand.

"Draco!" Hermione chastised sharply.

"You didn't say this was going to be a magic-free weekend." He defended himself.

"But a normal family couldn't–"

"You mean a _muggle_ family." He interrupted her and handed Scorpius and Cas a Sandwich. "Do you want one?"

"No, thank you." His wife answered stubbornly and didn't take her gaze of the road.

"Love, are you going to be mad at me because of this?" He sighed, "It was just a little spell."

"And what about the temperature?" She murmured.

"But the air conditioner's using way too much petrol! Oh come on, love, it was just a teeny tiny cooling charm."

She sighed, but the corners of her mouth twitched. "Fine. Have it your way."

He frowned. Why was this so important to her anyway? "Why shouldn't we use our abilities?" He whispered, but the children weren't listening. They were absorbed in their food and the music. "We could shorten that bloody jam."

Hermione tensed. "Because I want them to have a normal childhood. Like I had."

He flinched. "Not like mine you wanted to say."

Finally, she turned, worry in her eyes. "No, that's not what I meant."

"Then let me do something about the traffic."

"You are impossible." She groaned.

"But, love, at this speed we'll need hours to reach the hotel." He whined.

"Draco, don't be such a spoilt brat."

"Mhpf." Crossly, he turned to watch out of the window. Suddenly, Hermione started giggling and soon laughed heartily.

"What's going on?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.

"We're arguing." She grinned. "Just like a normal couple on every road trip."

"If I'd known that arguing makes you happy, I would've started a lot sooner." He smirked.

Suddenly, Hermione turned and gazed at him happily, her eyes warm like liquid amber. "I love you, Draco."

Even after being married for so long, these words still gave him a warm, tingling feeling in his stomach. "I love you, too."

"Ugh." A choking noise from the backseat interrupted them. "You are embarrassing." Scorpius snorted and rolled his eyes again. "Can I have sweets?"

"Muuummy, I need to pee!" Cas announced, seeing an opportunity to claim some attention.

"Just 2 kilometres, there's a service area." Hermione lied smoothly.

"Okay." her daughter nodded content.

"I want sweets!" Scorpius demanded.

"No!" Draco and Hermione said in unison.

A few hours later they left the motorway. "I told you to take the GPS." Hermione muttered angrily, because they must have missed a sign somewhere and were completely lost now.

"I don't trust those things." Draco argued. "Magic is better."

"Then tell me where we are."

He sighed and studied the map again. If he could only remember the right spell. " _Point me_." He watched his wand attentively. "Well, north is in that direction."

"How helpful." Hermione grumbled sarcastically. "I think we should ask someone."

"No, I'll figure this out!" Draco countered.

"Arg, why is it that men can never ask for directions?!" Hermione huffed exasperatedly and threw her hands in the air.

"Mummy, I need to pee!" A tearful voice rose from the back seat, interrupting their argument.

"Seriously, Cas?" Scorpius sighed. "You just went five minutes ago."

"That's not true!" Cas argued.

"It is!"

"Is not!"

"Will you stop it?!" Draco snapped and turned around. Both his children shut up at once and stared at him with large eyes, he had never snapped at them like that. "Sorry," he muttered, "but your _dear_ mother is getting under my skin."

"Only because your _dear_ father is unable to read a simple map." Hermione countered sweetly, "How did you manage to graduate, anyway?"

He rolled his eyes at his children and they sniggered happily.

"Are we there yet?" Scorpius asked suddenly.

Neither of them considered this question worthy of an answer. "Ha." Draco exclaimed suddenly, "I know where we are."

"Finally." Hermione sighed.

"You need to turn left there." At once Hermione indicated left. "I mean right." he corrected.

"Draco!" She groaned. "You are so useless."

"Flying a bloody broomstick would've been easier." He cursed and crossed his arms. "But no, once Hermione has set her mind on something…" Angrily, he threw the map into the glove compartment. "And like an idiot I let you get your way. Just because you want to be 'normal'. Am I not good enough for you anymore?" He growled. "Why do you feel the need to pretend you're something you're not?"

Hermione didn't respond as he expected her to, so he turned to see her face. Taken aback, he watched her biting her lip and holding onto the steering wheel so tightly her knuckles had turned white.

"Love?"

Suddenly she pulled into a side street and stopped. "Sorry, this was a bad idea. You can apparate with the kids if you want."

"And leave you alone on the street? Not in a hundred years." He tried to chuckle, but it didn't quite work, she didn't even look at him. "Why don't you tell me what's bothering you?"

"Nothing."

"Love." He said in a warm voice, "I didn't mean to upset you."

"I know." She sighed, "I'm overreacting. Sorry."

"But something's definitely up, so tell me what it is." He insisted and took her hand. "Please." He gave her the puppy face he knew would work under all circumstances.

"It's just … when we agreed to this trip, I suddenly missed my childhood. Not being a kid, but how uncomplicated everything was – no magic, no Dark Lord, no risk of death. This sounds stupid, doesn't it?" She sighed again. "Don't get me wrong, I _love_ magic, but I wanted them to have a carefree childhood and I… I wanted them to know where they were coming from, are descended from, you know?" She bit her lip. "I just wanted to be Hermione Granger-Malfoy, human, mother of two. Not a war heroine and the brightest witch of her age."

"Normal." He concluded.

She nodded, avoiding his eyes.

"I understand." He whispered.

Her eyes snapped up towards him. "You do?"

A faint smile played on his lips. "What kind of husband would I be if I didn't?" Maybe he didn't understand it in the way Hermione did, because he'd had a very different kind of childhood, but he could understand her reasons. He knew she didn't mean for it to hurt him, even if it stung a little, because to him magic _was_ normal.

Her lips trembled slightly. "Have I told you how much I love you?"

"You can tell me again."

"I love you to the moon and back." She said, citing her favourite children's book.

He grinned. "I love you more."

She raised one eyebrow and started the engine. Seconds later they were back on the road.

"What?" She asked, when she saw his sly smirk.

His smirk broadened and a mischievous gleam appeared in his eyes. "How do you know what normal couples do on a road trip?"

She blushed. "I read about it."

"Have you also read about what couples do after they've argued?"

"They reconcile again." She answered, frowning.

"Ah. So now that we did that, what is the next step? They don't – by pure chance – do that in their hotel, because I'd have a lot of ideas how we could make up again." He said cheekily.

"Draco!" She scolded, but a light blush had crept onto her cheeks and a smile was tugging on the corners of her mouth.

"Just saying." He chuckled and looked back on the road. Suddenly, he didn't mind the car trip that much anymore.

They were passing a place name sign, when Hermione suddenly exclaimed: "I think I know where we are!"

"Does that mean we are there yet?" Scorpius squealed from the backseat.

Seeing that as her cue, Cas announced for the umpteenth time: "Mummy, I need to peeeeeeeeeeeee!"

Hermione and Draco exchanged a look and smiled. Even if they weren't normal by muggle standards, they were a family and they were there for each other. That's what mattered in the end.


End file.
